Thursday 2 October
Workshop “Visions of Quantum Technologies: The Ethics of Technofutures”

Emerging technologies, such as quantum technologies, already exist in the form of future-oriented projections—visions, expectations, hopes, and fears. These projections matter: they shape the development of technologies by influencing the decisions we make today. As such, “technofutures” are a meaningful subject for ethical reflection.
In this workshop, QISS PhD Candidate Eline de Jong will explore how to put an “ethics of technofutures” into practice, particularly in the context of early-stage technologies like quantum. The focus will be placed on the approach of vision assessment as a way of ethically analysing technological visions.

Event details
Date: 2 October 2025
Time: 13:30 -18:00
Location: Institute for Advanced Study, Oude Turfmarkt 145-147

Programme
The originator of vision assessment, Professor Armin Grunwald, will deliver a keynote lecture, followed by several presentations showcasing different ways in which this approach has been applied. There will be ample time for discussion and for exchanging ideas on the ethical relevance of technofutures and the most effective ways to study them. This theme aligns closely with the UvA’s newly launched RPA on methodologies for fostering public engagement with science and technology.

On Tuesday 11 June 2024 in collaboration with our partners Quantum Delta NL, NWO, TNO and ECP we organized our official QISS research launch event Quantum Computing and Cybersecurity: Cryptocalypse or Overhype? This event took place during Quantum Meets ’24, a free three-day event in the KIT Institute Amsterdam, connecting quantum researchers, businesses, end-users, and policymakers. The QISS research group had organized an exciting afternoon session, focusing on the impact of quantum computing on cybersecurity and the society wide transition it calls for.

There were  presentations and a round table discussion with our invited international experts from academia, government, and the private sector: Bart Groothuis (member European Parliament), prof. Michele Mosca (U. of Waterloo), Anita Wehmann (Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations), Jaya Baloo (CSO - Senior Vice President, Rapid7), dr. Itan Barmes (Deloitte), prof. Christian Schaffner (UvA and QuSoft), and mr. Ot van Daalen (UvA). After the stimulating discussion, participants took part in an interactive and explorative session for a quantum-safe society. We ended our launch with some celebratory drinks.

Asking the right questions, finding sensible answers—it all hinges upon understanding. An understanding of the world around us, of the capacities and ramifications of our technologies, and of what matters to us. But what does it really mean to 'understand' something? On 3 April, Sebastian De Haro and Eline de Jong hosted a workshop titled 'Understanding Science and Technology: From Fundamental Science to Technology, Quantum and Society' at the Institute for Advanced Study of the University of Amsterdam. Together with speakers like Professor Henk de Regt (Radboud University) and 20 participants from different disciplines, they delved into the nexus of understanding in science, technology, and society, pondering questions like: Can AI deepen scientific understanding? What kind of understanding is involved in designing and using technology? And what defines 'public' understanding of science and technology? 

Sebastian De Haro, QISS project leader, spoke at the Atlantic Assembly panel Introducing quantum: The effects of new technology on quantum technology. Together with experts Lokke Moerel, and Frank Phillipson, Sebastian discussed the opportunities and threats of quantum computing for the global (future) security climate and the societal impact of the quantum revolution.

In March Christian Schaffner joined Ari Schwartz, Philomena Lavery, and John Fokker in a panel at CyberNext Brussels. View and listen to their discussion on Cybersecurity in a Quantum World on YouTube.

QISS researcher Ailsa Robertson joined in March the Quantum Safe Internet spring school in Porto, which was on the topic of Post Quantum Cryptography. Some of the most prominent researchers in the field were speaking on topics including lattices, codes, isogenies, hash-based cryptography and the quantum random oracle model. The purpose of this event was to introduce PhD students to the math/theoretical computer science behind the leading candidate schemes for post quantum cryptography. Christian Schaffner gave the ‘Quantum random oracles’ model talk.

QISS researcher Ailsa Robertson introduced the QISS project at the Quantum Delta NL Action Line, which was run by the Centre for Quantum in Society.


 

During Technical University München’s Festival of Ideas – a conference aimed at exchanging ideas on policy for new and emerging technologies – Eline de Jong chaired a discussion session on how we can deal with risks from future technologies and gave a lighting speech about the importance of understanding: “it is important that we understand how the technology works in order to achieve meaningful way to think about it.”